Big Ten teams to stop playing FCS opponents

Alvarez told WIBA-AM in Madison that conference coaches and athletic directors have agreed to stop scheduling games against teams in the lower division. There was no word when the policy would be put in place, but it could be at least 2016 because several Big Ten teams already have agreements to play FCS teams the next three seasons.

"The nonconference schedule in our league is ridiculous," Alvarez said on WIBA-AM via ESPN.com. "It's not very appealing, so we've made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools."

At a Big Ten meeting Monday, commissioner Jim Delany indicated that the the number of conference games would increase from eight games to nine and possibly 10 by the 2014 season when Maryland and Rutgers join the Big Ten.

If the Big Ten plays 10 conference games, that would leave only two openings on the schedule for nonconference opponents. And with strength of schedule part of the new playoff system, there appears to be a push to upgrade schedules around the country.